I silently observed Zen, who was following the carriage. Even without him saying a word, the immense anger he felt was palpable.

Currently, I had stopped by the interrogation room of the Imperial Guards to gather various information from Andro before heading back.

Until hearing from Andro, the connection between the intruders at the mansion on the day Sharl was murdered and the Cain’s family was uncertain. That’s why I secretly left the mansion without letting Zen know.

‘I was planning to go back and explain everything once it became certain that it was related to Cain’s.’

If only I had smoothly finished this outing, there would have been no need for any more secret exits in the future, but unfortunately, I got caught in an inconvenient situation at the last moment.

I arrived at the mansion with Zen, who was raising a gust of cold wind.

As we entered the room, Jelin approached as if she had been waiting. When she noticed Zen standing at the back, she couldn’t hide her surprise.

“Oh, you’re here, Miss.”

“He got caught by Zen, huh? How did he find out while you were running some errands?”

“Well, he came to deliver a message and found out in the process…”

Jelin tried to answer while glancing at Zen, but Zen, who had remained silent until now, opened his mouth and couldn’t bear not to listen to the end.

“Now that we’ve arrived at a place where no one can eavesdrop, please explain why you secretly left the mansion without me knowing.”

Zen had exercised patience until they arrived at a place where no one could overhear.

The safest place within the Kalua Empire was the room where I stayed. It was the gathering place for the Brelloph family members.

Since they had reached a location where no one else could listen, there was no reason to delay any longer. Besides, I had already made up my mind to explain everything when I returned today.

“The story is a bit lengthy. Both of you, have a seat.”

I seated the two and began explaining patiently.

I explained everything from the investigation into the culprit who murdered Sharl to the suspicion of a former mercenary named Cains, whom I had secretly traced.

Even though the novel hints were cleverly omitted, the information was consistent enough to be convincing to anyone.

Zen silently listened to my story. However, his changing facial expressions suggested that he was experiencing various emotions internally.

“…Andro informed me about the intruders who broke into the mansion that day. Since Ascan said the Imperial Guards would apprehend them, we just need to wait a bit.”

As I finished speaking, Zen, as if waiting for it, opened his mouth.

“Why did you keep it a secret from me?”

“Because if you found out, it would be obvious that I’d report it to my father.”

Orlando was currently investigating the poison. He didn’t want to cause confusion with information that was far from certain.

Zen’s face stiffened. It seemed that he couldn’t easily refute the reasons I had hidden.

“…But there’s a big hole in your story.”

“Hole?”

“I don’t consider the possibility that the head of the Imperial Guards of the Kalua Empire could betray us. Isn’t it too much trust in him?”
Suspicion was evident in Zen’s eyes. Just like when leaving the Arwen Empire for the first time, he still seemed hesitant to trust Ascan.

I sternly nodded.

“If you can’t trust Ascan, trust me. Because I trust him.”

Zen didn’t argue with my firm attitude, but his eyes still showed lingering distrust.

“Even if what you’re saying is right, it’s too risky for you to wander around the Kalua Empire alone.”

“I know.”

“You should be more careful. Even if you’re proficient in magical engineering weapons, your body is that of a fragile woman. The moment you allow an attack, you could be in danger.”

I had heard these words from Zen since my time in the Arwen Empire. While magical engineering weapons were powerful enough to keep most people at bay, in the unlikely event that someone approached me closely and attacked, I could be in danger.

I was not trained in combat; I controlled powerful weapons. In other words, my offensive capabilities were high, but my defense was lacking.

While using magical engineering weapons, this wasn’t a concern. However, my body was as ordinary as someone who hadn’t undergone extensive training.

To compensate for this weakness, I had developed a bracelet that could pull magical engineering weapons.

‘…Zen is worried like this; I can’t possibly tell him that I modified the bracelet.’

Creating a bracelet that could freely summon magical engineering weapons was not as easy as it sounded. I had modified the only bracelet I had, which was stolen from Kalspelliver. Currently, I couldn’t use such abilities.

‘Ascan did offer to set up a workshop, but without returning to the lab, creating a new bracelet would be challenging.’

The materials needed to make the bracelet were too many. Gathering all of them posed not only financial challenges but also the likelihood of taking an immense amount of time.